Monday, 27 July 2015

Midsummer Holiday Wrap Dress

Summer is still in full swing here, and we suffered even more since my last post from the heatwave that seems to never end. Water is scarce now and there's danger of forest fires. We fortunately could spend our holiday in the mountains. We visited a friend of ours who is native from the Southeastern part of Switzerland, a small town named Poschiavo in the Italian speaking part of the Grisons (who is also a Swiss-German and Rhaeto-Romance speaking canton). We stayed in a small cabin in the mountains which is only used for the summer months. In winter, those houses are not accessible anymore due to snow. Also in summer, the road is not to everyones taste (and ability). They're single-lane, only partially paved, and the natives drive like maniacs (and so does my husband). There are a lot of hairpin turns, and on one side there's a steep slope, on the other rough rocks protruding into the road. This is nothing at all for the faint-hearted, or for people with weak nerves and fear of heights.

Traditionally, in late spring the farmers moved with their households and their livestock to those cabins to spend the warm summer months up there. Temperatures are much lower than down in the valley, the cattle could feed on the mountain meadows and produced more milk, people produced cheese for the winter months.

Our friend's cabin was a newer one that was built about 50 years ago for holiday only, but the concept was the same: temperatures in the valley can easily reach 30° Celsius and more, but in the mountains it's a kindly climate. There's not much convenience, solar electricity and cold water only, no fridge (more to that later), and for the shower we needed to heat the water with a stove. No TV. However, life is much slower up there. So you too slow down, and it's good to go back to a very simple life. You realise that food prepared with a wood-fired cooker is much tastier. Or is it the clean air up there?

We spent some wonderful days, the kids enjoyed it as much as we did. We sat outside in the cool evening air, reading until there was too little light, then we played games (in company of a good Gin and Tonic). As we had no fridge, we had no ice, but we stored the bottles in a well that was fed by fresh mountain water, so it was very cool. And it was so silent. No traffic noise, no planes (I'm living near Zurich airport...), only the rushing river down in the valley and the sound of the wind in the nearby wood.

But what do you wear? Well, life is simple there, so you don't take your best dresses with you. I brought two skirts with me and some tops, chambray trousers I made especially for this trip (but I didn't wear them). Shortly before midsummer I made a dress, but never finished it because it was too hot and I was bored when I realised I had to undo part of the bodice for some minor adjustments. So I made an effort and finally finished it to take it with me.

I was very inspired by my friend Frau Burow's Hawaiian version of this pattern when I suddenly became aware I had the same pattern, Simplicity 2158, too. (Maybe a sign I have too many patterns?) It's a housedress, but who says I cannot wear a dress like that outside the house? (In my previous post I showed you a skirt I made after the same pattern.) I had a terrific true vintage 1940s seersucker fabric in my stash. Quite narrow, as usual, but very long. I was not sure if the fabric would be a good choice for the pattern, and it actually turned out to be not the best. The pattern requires gathers on the wrap front, and gathered seersucker looks bulky and not figure-friendly. So I made darts.
I didn't add any bias trimming along the edges, as the dress would really have looked like an apron....

My pattern was for a size 12 and maybe I enlarged to a bit too much, so there might be a bit too much fabric around the armholes and the bust, but as it is a summer dress, it offers much comfort like that and it was very easy to wear, even when we travelled back. Seersucker is a great fabric for garments you put in your suitcase, as they don't wrinkle easily.

This is my "Midsummer Dress", as it actually was made at that time of year, and as the colors ar pretty much the same as the colourful Scandinavian houses I had seen on a travel I made many years ago.

On some pictures I'm standing in front of a "grotto". These are very old buildings made from stone. The thick walls keep milk and cheese cool - and that's how they are still used. Sorry for the bad quality of some pictures, they were token with my husband's phone...

Warning: wrap dresses are NOT recommended for swinging...

One of our wonderful native friends, expert in local cuisine. She prepared mostly all our food.

Thoroughly fantastic dress and vintage brooch alike, dear Doris. I have such a penchant for vintage brooches that pertain to love and/or a person's relationship role - name brooches, even if they're not my own (name) really speak to me as well. I think it's the perpetual wordsmith in my coming out through my jewelry preferences. :)

Thank you so much for your comment! Yes, I have a soft spot for such brooches too, and I own a "mother" and this "Sweetheart" brooch. I am looking for a black or clear lucite initial D or a Doris brooch, however, my search was fruitless so far.

We are enjoying the last week of my husband's holiday week, happily the temperatures are much lower now and we don't suffer. :-) At the same time we are looking very much forward to our Swiss National Day on August 1st to celebrate with the kids.

Anthea, thanks! I know your country is very flat, but still, it has its own charm and beauty. :-) I live in the plain Northern part of Switzerland, so we have only hills (I call it the "lowlands"). Hope you can spend some time in the mountains, it's really always worth a holiday!

Sounds like the type of vacation my family need! We love unplugging and just enjoying the basics of painting, cooking and such. It is just beautiful there. The dress looks amazing on you (as always). I love wrap dresses because they make me look like I actually have a waist. ;)

Thank you! Unplugging is the right term - and a couple of days like these is sometimes better than a busy holiday with lots of activities or in a crowded place. (I'm not too fond of beach holidays, alas, my husband is Italian...)My waist disappeared with the birth of my kids - I have to "recreate" it with carefully chosen clothing. :-)

About Me

This blog is like my grandma's box of buttons - mostly from earlier decades, some new ones. Being crafty ever since, I made all kind of crafts, but mostly sewing. Over the last few years, I became a vintage-fabric-and-pattern-addict.

I'm living in Switzerland, in a small village, with my Italian husband and two marvellous kids in a small house with a big garden, growing more than 100 roses.